CHAPTER X.

FIBRES OR SILKEN MATERIAL OF THE PINNA.

The Pinna--Description of--Delicacy of its threads--Réaumur’s observations--Mode of forming the filament or thread--Power of continually producing new threads--Experiments to ascertain this fact--The Pinna and its Cancer Friend--Nature of their alliance--Beautiful phenomenon--Aristotle and Pliny’s account--The Greek poet Oppianus’s lines on the Pinna, and its Cancer friend--Manner of procuring the Pinna--Poli’s description--Specimens of the Pinna in the British Museum--Pearls found in the Pinna--Pliny and Athenæus’s account--Manner of preparing the fibres of the Pinna for weaving--Scarceness of this material--No proof that the ancients were acquainted with the art of knitting--Tertullian the first ancient writer who makes mention of the manufacture of cloth from the fibres of the Pinna--Procopius mentions a chlamys made of the fibres of the Pinna, and a silken tunic adorned with sprigs or feathers of gold--Boots of red leather worn only by Emperors--Golden fleece of the Pinna--St. Basil’s account--Fibres of the Pinna not manufactured into cloth at Tarentum in ancient times, but in India--Diving for the Pinna at Colchi--Arrian’s account.

In the preceding chapter we have confined our remarks, principally, to the various attempts made to obtain a silken or filamentous material from the spider, and although those efforts have not been crowned with that degree of success which would render a speculation of the kind worthy of our attention in a pecuniary point of view, yet, it must be conceded, that the subject is scarcely the less interesting; and Mr. Bon, the gentleman who first undertook the training of spiders, has at least given us matter for further interesting speculation. It is now about 104 years since Mr. Bon commenced his experiments.

In this chapter, we shall proceed to describe the Pinna of the ancients, and upon which human ingenuity has been more successfully exercised in seeking, many feet below the surface of the Ocean, for the slender filaments, the produce of an animal in almost a vegetative state of existence.

The Pinna is a bivalve[183] shell-fish, which, when full grown, is 18 inches long, and 6 wide at its broad end. It is found near the shores of South Italy, Sicily, Corsica, and Sardinia; also in the Bay of Smyrna, and in the Indian Ocean. It does not fasten itself to rocks in the same position as the muscle, but sticks its sharp end into the mud or sand, while the rest of the shell is at liberty to open in the water. In common with the muscle, it has the power of spinning a viscid matter from its body, conformably with that of the spider and caterpillar. Although the pinna is vastly larger than the muscle, its shell being sometimes found two feet long, the threads which it produces are more delicate and slender than those of the muscle, being in fineness and beauty scarcely inferior to the single filament of the comparatively minute silk-worm. Threads so delicately thin, as may readily be imagined, do not singly possess much strength; but the little power of each is made up by the aggregate of the almost infinite number which each fish puts forth to secure itself in a fixed situation, and preserve it against the rolling of the waves. The threads are, however, similar in their nature to those of the muscle, differing only in their superior fineness and greater length. These fish have, therefore, been distinguished by some naturalists, the one as the silk-worm, the other as caterpillar of the sea.

[183] An animal having two valves, or a shell consisting of two parts which open and shut.

It has been from a very remote period well known, that muscles have the power of affixing themselves either to rocks or the shells of one another, in a very firm manner; yet their method of effecting this was not understood until explained by the accurate observations of M. Réaumur, the _first_ naturalist who ascertained that if, by any accident, the animals were torn from their hold, they possessed the power of substituting other threads for those which had been broken or injured. It was found by him, that if muscles, detached from each other, were placed in any kind of vessel and then plunged into the sea, they contrived in a very short time to fasten themselves both to the vessel’s side and one another’s shells: in this process, the extremity of each thread seemed to perform the office of a hand in seizing upon the body to which it would attach itself.

The threads issue from the shell at that part where it naturally opens, and in affixing themselves to any substance, form numerous minute cables, by which the fish steadies itself in the water. Each animal is provided with an organ, which it is difficult to designate by any name, since it performs the office of so many members, and is the only indicator of the existence of vital powers in the creature. It is by turns a tongue, an arm, and sometimes a leg. Its shape resembles that of a tongue, and is, therefore, most frequently called by that name. Whenever the fish requires to change its place, this member serves to drag its body forward, together with its cumbrous habitation: in performing a journey, the extremity of this organ, which may then be styled a leg, is fixed to some solid body, and being then contracted in length, the whole fish is necessarily drawn towards the spot where it intends to station itself; and by a repetition of these movements, the animal arrives at its destination. It is not often that the organ is put to this use, as the pinna is but little addicted to locomotion: some naturalists indeed affirm that it is always stable. The purpose to which the tongue is most frequently applied, is that of spinning the threads. Although this body is flat, and in form similar to a tongue through the greater part of its length, it becomes cylindrical about the base or root, where it is much smaller than in any other part: at this lower end are several ligatures of a muscular nature, which keep the tongue firmly fixed against the middle of the shell; four of these cords are very apparent, and serve to move the tongue in any direction according to the wants of the fish. Through the entire length of this member there runs a slit, which pierces so deeply into its surface, as almost to divide it into two longitudinal sections; this performs the office of a canal for the liquor of which the threads are formed, and serves to mould them into their proper form: the canal appears externally like a small crack, being almost covered by the flesh from either side, but internally it is much wider, and surrounded by circular fibres. The channel thus formed extends regularly from the tip to the base of the tongue, where it partakes of the form of the member and becomes cylindric, producing there a tube or pipe in which the canal terminates. The viscid substance is moulded in this tube into the shape of a cord, similar to the threads produced from it, though much thicker, and from which all the minute fibres issue and disperse. The internal surface of the tube, wherein the large cord is formed, is furnished with glands for the secretion of the peculiar substance employed in its production, and which is always in great abundance in this animal as well as in muscles.

Réaumur observed, “that although the workmanship of the land and sea animals when completed is alike, the manner of its production is very different. Spiders, caterpillars, &c., form threads of any required length, by making the viscous liquor of which the filament is formed pass through fine perforations in the organ appointed for spinning. But the way in which muscles form their thread is widely opposite; as the former resembles the work of the wire-drawer[184], so does the latter that of the founder who casts metals in a mould.” The canal of the organ destined for the muscle’s spinning is the mould in which its thread is cast, and gives to it its determinate length.

[184] This remark of M. Réaumur confirms the observations of M. H. Straus, quoted in Chapter VII. that the thread of the silk-worm is not produced by a simple emission of liquid matter through the orifices of the spinner, or that it acquires solidity at once from the drying influence of the air. Indeed, silk cannot be produced in this manner, but is _secreted in the form of silk in silk vessels_, and the spinning apparatus, so called, only unwinds it. Mr. Straus’s observations on this head admit of no argument. The discovery reduces all that has been heretofore written upon the subject to the character of old lumber.

Réaumur learned the manner of the muscle performing the operation of swimming by actually placing some of these fish under his constant inspection. He kept them in his apartment in a vessel filled with sea water, and distinctly saw them open their shells and put forth their tongues. They extended and contracted this organ several times, obtruding it in every direction, as if seeking the fittest place whereon to fix their threads. After repeated trials of this kind, the tongue of one was observed to remain for some time on the spot chosen, and being then drawn back with great quickness, a thread was very easily discerned, fastened to the place: this operation was again resumed, until all the threads were in sufficient number: one fibre being produced at each movement of the tongue.

The old threads were found to differ materially from those newly spun, the latter being whiter, more glossy, and transparent than the former, and it was thence discovered that it was not the office of the tongue to transfer the old threads one by one to the new spots where they were fixed, which course M. Réaumur had thought was pursued. The old threads once severed from the spot to which they had been originally fixed were seen to be useless, and that every fibre employed by the fish to secure itself in a new position was produced at the time required; and, in short, that nature had endowed some fish, as well as land insects, with the power of spinning threads, as their natural wants and instincts demanded. This fact was incontrovertibly established by cutting away, as close to the body as they could with safety be separated, the old threads, which were always replaced by others in a space of time as short as was employed by other muscles not so deprived.

“The pinna and its cancer friend” have on more than one occasion been made subjects for poetry. There is doubtless some foundation for the fact of the mutual alliance between these aquatic friends which has been thus celebrated; yet some slight coloring may have been borrowed from the regions of fancy wherewith to adorn the verse, and even the prose history of their attachment may be exposed to a similar objection.

The scuttle-fish, a native of the same seas with the pinna, is its deadly foe, and would quickly destroy it, were it not for its faithful ally. In common with all the same species, the pinna is destitute of the organs of sight, and could not, therefore, unassisted, be aware of the vicinity of its dangerous enemy. A small animal of the crab kind, itself deprived of a covering, but extremely quick-sighted, takes refuge in the shell of the pinna, whose strong calcareous valves affords a shelter to her guest, _while he makes a return for this protection by going forth in search of prey_. At these intervals the pinna opens her valves to afford him egress and ingress: if the watchful scuttle-fish now approach, the crab returns instanter with notice of the danger to her hostess; who, timely warned, shuts her door and keeps out the enemy. When the crab has, unmolested, succeeded in loading itself with provisions, _it gives a signal by a gentle noise at the opening of the shell_, and when admitted, the two friends feast together on the fruit of its industry. It would appear an arduous, nay, a task almost impossible for the defenceless and diminutive crab, not merely to elude its enemies and return home, but likewise obtain a supply of provender sufficient to satisfy the wants of its larger companion. The following different account of the nature of this alliance is more credible:--

Whenever the pinna ventures to open its shell, it is immediately exposed to the attacks of various of the smaller kinds of fish, which, meeting with no resistance to their first assaults, acquire boldness and venture in. The vigilant guard, by a gentle bite, gives notice of this to his companion, who, upon such a hint, closes her shell, and having thus shut them in makes a prey of those who had come to prey upon her: when thus supplied with food, she never fails to share her booty with so useful an ally.

We are told that the sagacious observer, Dr. Hasselquist, in his voyage, (about the middle of the last century,) to Palestine, which he undertook for objects connected with the study of natural history, beheld this curious phenomenon, which, although well known to the ancients, had escaped the attention of the moderns.

It is related by Aristotle[185] that the pinna keeps a guard to watch for her, which grows to her mouth, and serves as her caterer: this he calls pinnophylax, and describes as a little fish with claws like a crab. Pliny observes[186], that the smallest species of crab is called the pinnotores, and being from its diminutive size liable to injury, has the prudence to conceal itself in the shells of oysters. In another place he describes the pinna as of the genus of shell-fish, with the further particulars that it is found in muddy waters, always erect, and never without a companion, called by some pinnatores, by others pinnophylax; this being sometimes a small squill, and at others a crab, which remains with the pinna for the sake of food.

[185] Hist. lib. v. c. 15.

[186] Lib. ix. 51. 66.

The description of the pinna by the Greek poet Oppianus, who flourished in the second century, has been thus given in English verse:--

The pinna and the crab together dwell, For mutual succor in one common shell; They both to gain a livelihood combine, That takes the prey, when this has given the sign; From hence this crab, above his fellows famed, By ancient Greeks was Pinnotores named.

It is said that the pinna fastens itself so strongly to the rocks, that the men employed in fishing for it are obliged to use considerable force to break the tuft of threads by which it is secured fifteen, twenty, and sometimes even thirty feet below the surface of the sea.

It is fished up in the Gulf of Tarentum by the _Pernonico_, which consists of two semicircular bars of iron fastened together at the ends, at one of which is a wooden pole, at the other a ring and cord. The fishermen conduct their boat over the place, where the pinna is seen through the clear water, let down the Pernonico, and, having loosened the pinna by embracing it with the iron bars and twisting it round, draw it up to the boat. The pinna is also obtained by diving. Poli, in his splendid work on the Sicilian Testacea (_Parma_, 1795, _folio_,) gives beautiful representations of the several species and especially of the Pinna Nobilis[187]. The following description of submarine scenery and operations, is so vivid and pleasing that we quote it at length.

[187] The figure (Fig. 7.) of the Pinna Nobilis, Plate III., is reduced from Plate XXXIV. in vol. ii.

Pinnis hujusmodi abundant præ cæteris litus Trinacriæ, sinus Tarentinus, oraque maritima Crateris Neapolitani, potissimum ultra Promontorium Pausilypi. Equidem persummâ adficimur animi jucunditate, quoties illarum piscationis recordamur, quam vere jam inchoato inibi facere iterum iterumque consuevimus. Est ad Insulam Nisitæ, quâ illa ad septentrionem vergit, respicitque contra Pausilypi Promontorium, amœnissimi maris plaga, quoddam maris ocium. Ibi inter ingentes, pulcherrimosque marinarum stirpium saltus, quibus plaga illa undique virescit, oculosque animumque recreat, Pinnarum greges sponte gignuntur; quæ mari tranquillo, umbrisque ab insulæ summitate cadentibus, ab iis qui cymbis insistunt, ad triginta fermè pedum altitudinem, subrectæ, inque fundo arenoso defixæ perspicuè cerni possunt. Urinatores igitur, sese mari submergentes, illis arripiendis destinantur. Quoniam vero, ne reiteratis quidem ictibus, ab arenâ, ubi consitæ sunt, educi queunt; arena etenim, et pondere suo et altissimâ aquarum mole sibi incumbente fortiter stipata, urinatorum conatibus validè resistit; hi maris fundum nacti, ibique veluti in solo sedentes, arenam Pinnæ circumjectam manibus averrunt, Pinnamque deinceps ambabus manibus comprehensam divellere conantur. Et si diutius, quam par est, spiritum cohibere nequeunt, ad summa æquorum ascendunt, suberibusque aquæ innatantibus inibi de industriâ positis innituntur, donec tandem aëris haustu recreati, maris fundum iterum petant, operamque penitus absolvant. _v._ ii. _p._ 230, 231.

This species of Pinna is especially abundant on the shores of Sicily, in the Gulf of Taranto, and in the Bay of Naples, particularly beyond the Cape of Posilipo. It always fills my mind with the greatest delight to recollect the manner of fishing for it, in which I have often taken a part at that spot in the commencement of spring. On the northern shore of the Isle of Nisida opposite Posilipo, is a most agreeable expanse of water, where the sea appears to be ever at rest. Here, amidst those vast and most beauteous submarine forests, with which the coast is decorated in every direction so as at once to charm the mind and refresh the eye, the Pinna grows spontaneously in large groups, and in calm water, when the shadows fall from the summit of the island, is clearly seen by persons in boats growing nearly upright and fixed in the sandy bottom at the depth of about thirty feet. There are divers, whose business it is to bring it up. But, since it cannot be loosened even by repeated blows, (for the sand firmly resists the attempts of the diver, being supported by its own weight and by the super-incumbent water,) in these circumstances he sits down at the bottom of the sea, brushes away with his fingers the earth which encompasses the shell, and then endeavors to pull it up by seizing it with both hands. If he is thus likely to be detained at the bottom for a longer time than he can hold his breath, he ascends to the surface, supports himself _upon corks_, which are in readiness for him, and, when he has sufficiently recovered himself by breathing, he again dives to the bottom to complete his task.

The specimens of Pinna in the British Museum show not only the tuft, but also the pearls and the mother of pearl. Poli found in one specimen of the Pinna Nobilis no less than twenty pearls, of which he has given figures in his splendid work. Pliny (l. ix. c. 35.) mentions the practice of diving for the Pinna in the Mediterranean Sea in order to obtain pearls from it: and Athenæus (l. iii. p. 93 Casaub.) has preserved extracts from two historical writers, one of whom accompanied Alexander on his Indian expedition, and who informs us, that the Pinna was procured in the Indian seas, by diving and for the sake of the pearls.

The Italians call the fibres _Lana Pesce_ or _Lana Penna_, i. e. _Fish Wool_, or _Pinna Wool_. It is not equally good in all places. When the bottom of the sea is sandy, the shell with its bunch of fibres may be easily extracted, and they are silky and of a fine color. But in rushy and muddy bottoms so fast do they stick as to be generally broken in drawing up, and are of a blackish color without gloss.

The Lana Penna is twice washed in tepid water, once in soap and water, and again in tepid water, then spread on a table to dry: while yet moist, it is rubbed and separated with the hand, and again spread on the table. When quite dry, it is drawn through a wide comb of bone, and then through a narrow one. That which is destined for very fine works is also drawn through iron combs, called _scarde_ (_cards_). It is then spun with a distaff and spindle.

As it is impossible to procure much of this material of a good quality, the manufacture is very limited, and the articles produced, stockings and gloves, are expensive. They are esteemed excellent preservatives against cold and damp, are soft and very warm, and the finest of a brown cinnamon, or glossy gold color. The manufacture is chiefly carried on at Taranto, the ancient _Tarentum_[188].

[188] Riedesel’s Travels through Sicily and Græcia Magna, translated by J. R. Forster, London, 1773, p. 178-180. De Salis, Travels in the Kingdom of Naples. Keppel Craven, Tour through the Southern Provinces of the Kingdom of Naples, p. 185. D’Argenville, Lithol. et Conchologie, p. 183, and Plate 25.

The _Lana Penna_, having been spun, is now almost universally knit. But, as it does not appear that the ancients were acquainted with this process prior to the second century, whatever garments they made of this material must have been woven.

The first proof we possess of its use among them is in Tertullian, who lived in the second century (_De Pallio_, iii. _p._ 115, _Rigaltii_). Speaking of the materials for weaving, he says,

Nec fuit satis tunicam pangere et serere, ni etiam piscari vestitum contigisset nam et de mari vellera, quo mucosæ lanusitatis plautiores conchæ comant.

Nor was it enough to comb and to sow the materials for a tunic. It was necessary also to fish for one’s dress. For fleeces are obtained from the sea, where shells of extraordinary size are furnished with tufts of mossy hair[189]. (See Fig. 7, Plate II.)

[189] In this passage _piscari_ is rather fancifully opposed to _pangere_ and _serere_. The former of these two terms (_pangere_) refers to tunics of wool, which was _pacta_ or _pexa_; the latter to tunics of cotton and flax, which were _sata_. The epithet _plautiores_, (etymologically allied to _latiores_, and to πλατὺς,) well describes the large size and expanded form of the Pinna.

Procopius informs us (_De Edif. lib._ iii. _c._ 1.), that Armenia was governed by five hereditary satraps, who received their _insignia_ from the Roman Emperor. Among these was a Chlamys made of the fibres of the Pinna. (Χλαμὺς ἡ ἐξ ἐρίων πεποιημένη, οὐχ οἷα τῶν προβατίων ἐκπέφυκεν, ἀλλ’ ἐκ θαλάσσης συνειλεγμένων· πίννους τὰ ζῶα καλεῖν νενομίκασι, ἐν οἷς ἡ τῶν ἐρίων ἔκφυσις γίνεται.) This chlamys was fastened with a fibula of gold, in which a precious stone was set, and three hyacinths were suspended from it by golden chains (χρυσαῖς τε καὶ χαλαραῖς ἀλύσεσιν.) The chlamys was accompanied by a silken tunic, adorned with sprigs or “_feathers_” of gold. It is thus described:

Χιτὼν ἐκ μετάξης, ἐγκαλλωπίσμασι χρυσοῖς πανταχόθεν ὡραΐσμενος, ἃ δὴ νενομίκασι πλούμμια καλεῖν.

With the chlamys and tunic were worn boots of red leather, such as only the emperors of Rome and Persia were allowed to wear.

St. Basil mentions with admiration “the golden fleece” of the Pinna, which no artificial dye could imitate. Πόθεν τὸ χρυσοῦν ἔριον αἱ πίνναι τρέφουσιν, ὅπερ οὐδεὶς τῶν ἀνθοβάφων ἐμιμήσατο.--_Hexaem._ vii.

Whether the tuft of the Pinna was used for weaving before the time of the authors, who have now been cited, seems doubtful. As the Pinna is frequently mentioned by earlier writers, both Greek and Latin[190], but without any reference to the use of its tuft, it may be regarded as probable, that this kind of cloth was not invented before the time of Tertullian.

[190] The passages are collected in Stephani Thesaurus L. Græcæ, ed. Valpy, p. 7579.

It is a no less curious question, Whence did the ancients obtain the fibres of the Pinna, _and where was the manufacture of them carried on_?

It has been commonly said at _Tarentum_, but apparently for no other reason than that the Pinna is obtained and the manufacture principally carried on at _Taranto_ in modern times. By referring to the authorities above quoted, it will be seen that none of them makes any allusion to Tarentum. Consequently we have no direct evidence, that this was the seat of the ancient manufacture. On the contrary, we have testimony, that fine cloths of this substance were made in _India_, and thence imported into Greece and other countries.

The author of the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, a document of an age at least as late as the time of Tertullian, states that the business of diving for the wool of the Pinna was prosecuted near the city called _Colchi_ in the south of India. Different species of Pinna with tufts of fine silk are now no less abundant in the Indian than the Mediterranean Sea. The Periplus of the Erythrean Sea presents a sufficient proof, that this beautiful substance was spun and woven by the Indians, whereas we can only suppose from analogy that the manufacture was carried on in ancient times by the Tarentines.